IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW (AUGUST 29th)

Three rounds of fixtures remain in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League, and with things extremely tight at the top of the table, tomorrow could well be the ‘moving day’ as the top three are all vying for pole position going into the last two fixtures.

Naturally, the weather could too play havoc, however with all of these fixtures having been completed in the regular league phase, should any of these fixtures be washed out tomorrow, it will be a 12.5 points apiece split between the two teams.

This weekend there’s a double helping of cricket in Sandymount, as Leinster visit Railway Union, whilst just across the road, Pembroke play host to Malahide, meanwhile in Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan face Merrion in a top of the table clash!

RAILWAY UNION VS LEINSTER

Just two points separate these sides heading into this weekend’s action, with Railway Union unbeaten in the league since July 18^th and riding the crest of a wave. They are once again near enough to full strength this weekend, led by one of the in-form players in the province in the shape of Philippe le Roux. He’ll be the anchor of the innings at number four, and it will be interesting to see if he continues with last weekend’s tactic of Liam McCarthy opening the batting, after it proved to be something of a success, as he and Bruce Whaley got the side off to a strong start. Rob O’Brien is another man in good form at number three, whilst Abhay Tipnis has done an excellent job of rotating the strike and keeping a good tempo in the middle order. Peter le Roux takes the gloves and will feature in the middle alongside Ashil Prakash and Connor Walden. The bowling is led by the aforementioned McCarthy, who will share opening duties with Sumit Kumar’s left-arm swingers, the absence of Sean O’Brien sees Digamber Mishra return to the side, whilst the spin will come from the leg-breaks of Johan George, along with Prakash and Tipnis.

Leinster meanwhile have gone with an extra batter for this week’s game, with Sanith Poojary returning to the side, it remains to be seen whether he will reprise his opening partnership with Luke Horgan, or slot into the middle order. With Tom Johnson also in the side the latter seems more likely, with Monil Patel remaining at number three ahead of Saqib Bahadur and Younas Ahmadzai. The side are missing Mark Tonge, Gareth Delany and Jai Moondra to ETPL duty, meaning there’s another chance in the middle order for Tristen de Beer after a bumper weekend for him last week has seen him propel the 2^nd XI to the brink of the title and with the ball for Kaustabh Apsunde who has proven to be an able new-ball deputy this term. All-rounder Joey Carroll is also likely to need to bowl 10 overs again this weekend in the absence of two frontline seamers, with skipper Bilal Azhar continuing in his new-ball role. The spin will come from Bahadur’s offies, alongside the slow left-arm of Tom Johnson, whilst vice-captain Rian Cassidy continues behind the sticks for the Rathmines side.

Having been at pains to point out he hadn’t featured in a Key Battle all season before last weekend, Philippe le Roux showed just how important he is in the middle order of this Railway Union side, and he could be the man to capitalise on Leinster’s under-strength bowling attack, if he can dominate against Joey Carroll’s skilful medium-pace in the middle overs, it could give the hosts the upper hand this time out.

KEY BATTLE: Philippe le Roux vs Joey Carroll

BALBRIGGAN VS MERRION

A win and a loss since the split has seen Balbriggan push their way to the top of the table, and a win this weekend would see them cementing themselves as favorites to reclaim the title which they won in 2022 at their first attempt. Their win last weekend was built around a strong batting effort, and with their side almost at full strength heading into the final weeks of the season, they will be looking for more of the same. They are led by Cameron Rowe and Ghanim Dara at the top of the order, with left-hander Kai Curran slotting into the number three role last weekend and likely to remain there once again. Chris de Freitas is the key man in the side at number four, whilst the stroke players that follow him offer the ability to change the game in a heartbeat. Connor Fletcher’s move to number five paid immediate dividends as he top scored, whilst Aaron McGeehan and Seb de Oliveira bat either side of the destructive Jordan Hollard, who has thrown himself into the spotlight on a number of occasions this season so far with some remarkable performances with both bat and ball. De Oliveira and Ruan Strauss have struck up a brilliant new-ball partnership of late, more than making up for the long-term absence of Matt Hollard, and their seamers are backed up by the medium pace of Andy Darroch. The spin comes from skipper Dylan Lues and the aforementioned Hollard, whilst Kai Curran rounds out a three-pronged attack for the skipper to call upon.

Merrion meanwhile are doubtless the form team in the league, they have been relentless since late June at which point they looked on the brink of missing out on the Premier League this season. They have won six on the spin since then and a seventh win would see them top of the table with two games to go. Their top three is very settled since the arrival of Raj Undre from Cork County earlier this term, he features alongside the two most dangerous players in the side in the shape of Swapnil Modgill and Stephen Doheny, the latter having made a crucial 92 in last week’s win over holders Pembroke. Seb Dijkstra and John Anderson have played important hands in several of their victories this term, none more than Anderson’s unbeaten 49 last time out. They are followed by the all-rounders, with Corne Botha’s power-striking complementing the more conservative Sean Stanton and well-tempered Mikey O’Reilly. A finger injury to Doheny and foot injury for Olly Mollins has seen Joe Hourihane deputising behind the stumps for Merrion of late, and if he appears once again it will be in the lower order alongside Andy Doheny and spinner Peter Forkin.

Corne Botha and Mikey O’Reilly ripped Pembroke apart last weekend, and Merrion will be hoping one of them can recreate that effort again this weekend to put the side on top. If Mikey O’Reilly can get an early look at Chris de Freitas, his shape away from the left-hander could give Merrion the in they are looking for and see them right on the front foot.

KEY BATTLE: Chris de Freitas vs Mikey O’Reilly

PEMBROKE VS MALAHIDE

Pembroke come into this vital fixture off the back of a sensational victory in last weekend’s All-Ireland T20, meaning they have won trophies in 3 of the last four weekends they have played. They will know nothing less than a win will do as they seek to claim a fourth consecutive league title, having claimed the Championship in 2023 and being the current back-to-back holders of the Premier League. Jack Tector misses out with a knock this weekend, meaning Paul Lawson is at the helm in a team that is already without key men in the shape of Tim and Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Gavin Hoey. In spite of that however, they do boast no fewer than six players with full IP caps in the 11, and will be hoping that some of that class can shine through in a time of major adversity for the side. At the top of the order, Macdara Cosgrave and JJ Garth will reprise their opening partnership, with Garth once again producing the goods in a final last weekend when top scoring in the aforementioned victory. Andy Balbirnie will continue at number three, with Addison Sherriff once again pushed up the order to number four. The middle order is made up of a strong cohort from the Second XI in the shape of gloveman Danny Hogan, Sanil Gupta and Dan Murray, who made 96 in that league last season. With the ball, Olly Riley and Byron McDonough will share the new ball, with Sherriff still managing his bowling loads going into this weekend. Murray’s medium pace will back-up that pair, whilst the spin will come from the stand-in skipper Lawson, and off-breaks of Cosgrave.

Malahide meanwhile are a side very much out of form in this league, they have won just one from their last five games, and will be looking to their bowling attack to fire to put them back on track. James Newland and Kelvin Donnelly lead the way there, with support coming from their key man Jeremy Martins, who has been excellent all season in the first change role. Fellow all-rounder Robbie Foulkes will also bowl his medium pace cutters, whilst the spin is set to once again come from the left-arm of Mohit Sane, and the flat leg-breaks of Timcy Khanduja. With the bat, Foulkes and Khanduja opened the innings last weekend, and will hope to provide a base for their middle order to cause some issues for Pembroke. Adam Doyle at number three is the man the side will look to bat around, whilst both Martins and player-coach Greg Ford were in the runs when these sides met in the all-Ireland cup last month and will be key to their chances of victory in this game. Andy Sheridan and wicket-keeper Matthew Langan round out the batting line-up in a side that is searching for form in a big way.

Jeremy Martins is likely to have his sights set on the key wicket of JJ Garth this weekend, with the Pembroke opener currently in the form of his life and no doubt hoping to have a big impact on the final weeks of the season.

KEY BATTLE: Jeremy Martins vs JJ Garth

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs Leinster

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs Merrion

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Malahide